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Commerce, Cudahy, Maywood, and Montebello sit inside a tight pocket of southeast Los Angeles County, and a DUI arrest from any of the four has historically been heard at the same place: the East Los Angeles Courthouse on Civic Center Way. Three of those cities share a single patrol agency; the fourth runs its own. None of that changes what's happening to your driver's license — the DMV's clock has nothing to do with which building hears your case. It started the moment you were arrested, and it closes in 10 days whether or not the court calendar has caught up yet. Ron Chini has been a California-licensed DUI attorney since his 2009 Bar admission, and he can usually tell you within one phone call which agency is holding your report and what the next 10 days actually require.
East Los Angeles Courthouse — court & DMV details
Why your case is here
The pull toward this courthouse has more to do with geography than any of the four cities' separate identities. Commerce is barely 6.7 square miles and counts roughly 12,500 residents on its own rolls, yet the Citadel Outlets alone draws roughly 20 million shoppers a year along the Interstate 5 corridor that splits the city — a DUI stop here is often someone just passing through, not a local. Cudahy and Maywood are smaller still and among the most densely built cities in the county, tucked between the Los Angeles River and Atlantic Boulevard. Montebello, the largest of the four, sits a few miles east along Beverly Boulevard with its own city hall and its own police force. All four, together with the surrounding unincorporated East Los Angeles community, have historically had their DUI arrests filed at 4848 E. Civic Center Way, but Los Angeles County has periodically redrawn which courthouse handles which cities' calendars — so the safer move is to confirm your own department from the citation itself rather than assume this page's venue still applies on the day you appear.
One sheriff's station covers three of these four cities
The LASD's East Los Angeles Station, at 5019 E. 3rd St., patrols three of these four cities under contract: Commerce, which has never fielded a police department of its own, and Cudahy and Maywood, each with a different path to that same contract — Maywood ran its own department until 2010, when it laid off the entire force after an insurance crisis, while Cudahy never had a department of its own and instead spent about seven years, 2003 to 2010, contracted to Maywood's department rather than the Sheriff's, before returning to an LASD contract once Maywood's force disappeared. Arrests out of any of those three cities are typically booked right at the station's own jail on 3rd Street, which generally holds people no more than about 48 hours before transfer or release. Montebello is the exception: it still runs an independent department of its own, out of 1600 W. Beverly Blvd., the way it has since the 1930s. Freeway stops complicate the picture further — I-5, I-710, I-10, and SR-60 all cut through this stretch of the county, and CHP's East Los Angeles Area office out of Monterey Park, not any of the four local agencies above, often makes those arrests instead. Which of these agencies actually has your report is the first thing Ron sorts out, because the evidence and the booking paperwork travel with whoever made the stop, not with the courthouse.
The 10-day DMV deadline
None of the above changes your driver's license situation, because the DMV runs its own separate process — an Administrative Per Se hearing — and it doesn't wait for the criminal case to catch up. You, or your attorney, have 10 days from the arrest date to request that hearing; miss it, and the suspension takes effect on its own, regardless of what later happens at the East Los Angeles Courthouse. California now conducts these hearings by phone or video rather than in person, so the DMV's Driver Safety office can be reached directly at (833) 543-7703. The sooner that call happens, the more room there is to actually contest it. How the DMV hearing works →
How Ron defends a DUI at the East Los Angeles Courthouse
Ron Chini works out of Chini Law's Irvine office and has been licensed to practice DUI defense throughout California, including Los Angeles County, since his 2009 admission to the California Bar. His first step on a new case here is identifying exactly who made the arrest — LASD's East LA Station, Montebello PD, or CHP — because each agency's reporting habits, dashcam setup, and booking procedures differ enough to matter. From there he requests the arrest report, any available video, and the breath or blood evidence, checking the stop itself, how any field sobriety tests were administered, and the chain of custody on the chemical testing for the kind of detail that can lead to a reduced charge or a dismissal. He does not claim to be a certified specialist, and no result is ever guaranteed, but he handles these cases personally — in English or Farsi — rather than routing them through a paralegal or a call center.
Where will my Commerce, Cudahy, Maywood, or Montebello DUI be heard?
Who prosecutes a DUI from these cities?
Which police agency likely arrested me?
How do I protect my license?
← Back to Los Angeles County DUI Defense
Ron defends DUI cases across Southern California from his Irvine office, in English and Farsi — and works directly with you, not a call center.
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